Sibling Rivalry
by Keimei
Summary: Rouku gets tired of being protected by his little brother, leaving Ryuuen wondering what he did wrong. *Sap alert!!!*


**Notes: I've been meaning to upload this one for a while and now I'm finally doing it. YAY!!! This was another English class idea. Damn them all!!! My teacher had us write about a sibling rivalry and I must have had Nuriko on the brain. I remembered how Rouku said that Ryuuen always protected him and I realized it was impossible for him not to have some sort of resentment for that, no matter how much he loved his little brother. And so this little one-shot was born; a glimpse into the happy part of the Willow Seishi's childhood.**

**Warnings: I guess spoilers for Nuriko, but I'm not that sure actually. **PG** for mentions of violence I guess?**

**Sibling Rivalry**

**PG **

****

            Rouku threw his hands in the air, a clear indication of his anger, still yelling at his younger brother. So what if the kid was stronger than him? Inhumanely strong despite his slight frame actually? He was such a scrawny boy he could almost pass for their younger sister Kourin. "I don't need you to protect me!" he screamed. "I can take care of myself!"

            The ten-year-old's rose-colored eyes filled with tears. Why was Rouku yelling at him? His onii-san loved him, right? He was just trying to help. Those kids would have hurt them. "I didn't want them to hurt you!" he yelled back. "They were gonna beat you up! Again! I just wanted to help you." Seeing that his heart-felt words were having no affect on the teenager, Ryuuen drew himself to his full height. It wasn't much, but it made him feel slightly more equal to Rouku, somewhat. "I'm sorry then! I won't do it again! I'll never ever ever help you again!"

            The boy turned away from his brother tears, still streaming down his pale face. The run to his room seemed to take forever, and just before he slammed the heavy wooden door behind him, Rouku could have sworn he heard his little brother whisper, "Gomen nasai, onii-san."

Ryuuen slammed his fist into his pillow as usually did when he was upset. Also as usual, his hand went through the pillow. Again. White feathers drifted lazily in the air, covering both himself and the bed. _Great_ he thought acidly. _Kaa-san's gonna have my head again._ It was the third pillow he had destroyed that month, and each time it happened his mother promised dire consequences if it were to happen again. Not that she actually went through with them, as Ryuuen was still alive and punching holes through pillows.

            As his mood soured even more, Ryuuen decided he didn't have to look in the mirror across the room to know he looked ridiculous. Although he had stopped crying a little while ago, his eyes were still red and puffy. He hadn't changed or washed since he had gotten home either, so his cloths, hands, hair, and face were still dirty and dusty from the scuffle in the street. His purple hair was falling out of the braid his sister had painstakingly plaited earlier, mussed from both major events of the day. And now, he had goose feathers all over him as well. Ryuuen sighed. Wonderful, just wonderful.

            The boy rolled over to stare at the ceiling and began to think rationally. Why did older brothers have to be such a pain anyway? And so unaccepting. He had just been trying to help. Ryuuen was sure that if it had been one of Rouku's friends that had intervened, the older boy wouldn't have cared. Was it a crime for a younger brother to try and keep his onii-san from getting beat up? It seemed that it was, and he certainly wouldn't be doing it again anytime soon. Oh he _hated fighting with Rouku!_

            A knock at the door pulled the boy from his reverie. "Who's there?" he grumbled, not too happy at the idea of seeing anyone at the moment, even Kourin. He scowled at the door, as if the person on the other side could see him.  The door opened and a small girl slipped into the room.

            "Onii-chan!" she exclaimed, climbing onto the bed and sitting down next to him, grinning. "You're a mess! And you're covered in feathers!" She giggled and as he didn't join in, began to study his face. Her own twisted into a grimance. "What happened to you Onii-chan?" she asked, and glared when he answered 'Betsuni'. "Have you been crying because Rouku-nii-san yelled at you?" she demanded.

            "How…" Ryuuen began.

            "I heard of course baka. The two of you were yelling so loud I'm surprised the neighbor's haven't come over wanting to know who was being killed.

            Ryuuen had the grace to blush and his eight-year-old female clone giggled again. "I didn't catch exactly what happened though. Care to share?" Kourin idly twirled a feather she picked out of her brother's hair while waiting patiently for him to begin speaking. Ryuuen sighed and resigned to his fate. There was no choice but to speak.

            "Rouku and I were leaving Tou-san's store, walking down the street and minding our own business when Toro and his gang came out of the alleys. They started giving Rouku a hard time, something about school and getting out of his way. I didn't follow it all and I still don't get it. The street is wide enough for all of us to walk in and it wasn't like there were horses or carriages coming. Rouku refused to move and wouldn't let me move either. And then one of them, I think it was Tedato, took a swing at him. You know Rouku. He's not very good at fighting and doesn't enjoy it. I can take it better than he can, even if I am smaller. So I got in front of him and stopped him. The others all jumped me at once and after a bit of a scuffle I got them to back off. Rouku didn't say anything till we got home.

            "I was just trying to help. I didn't think I was doing anything wrong, was I? I didn't want him to get hurt." The boy sniffled, but blinked back the tears. He wasn't going to cry in front of Kourin. Suddenly, he felt a pair of small arms wrap around him.

            "Daijobu nii-chan. It'll all blow over soon, ne? Onii-san doesn't hold a grudge for too long."

            Ryuuen was about to answer when they heard Rouku's voice. "Kourin-chan! Where are you?" he yelled. The door to Ryuuen's room opened and the teen's head poked through. "Imouto-chan, Kaa-san wants you in the kitchen."

            The girl nodded and removed her arms from her brother. She smiled at him and whispered, "Ganbatte," before slipping quietly past Rouku, leaving the two alone. 

            "Ryuuen…I…"  "Onii-san…I…" they both said at the same time. Ryuuen giggled slightly and Rouku took the opportunity to move over to Ryuuen's bed. The older boy sat down and began to speak. "I'm sorry I yelled at you Ryuuen. You were right. You were just trying to help. I guess I just have trouble dealing with the fact that I have to be protected by my ten-year-old brother." He stood up and bowed. "Sumimasen, otouto-chan." Ryuuen flushed, not used to the respect his brother was giving him. "And don't you dare say 'gomen' back to me. You were right, I was wrong, and don't expect this to happen again."

            Rouku suddenly laughed, picked Ryuuen up, and threw him over his shoulder. "Come on, otoutou. Let's go get some ice-cream. My treat."

            "Really?! Sugoi! I want chocolate!"

            "Whatever you want, Ryuuen."

***

Ok, so the end is a little sappy and I'm not sure if they had ice-cream in Ancient China, but it works and I like it. *blows raspberry* 'Sides, Nuri-chan seems like a chocolate type of person. Don't forget to review, onegai? Reviews make me oh-so-very happy. *grins* And let me know if I seriously messed anything up. 


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